Water mill - vertical-wheeled

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in slight hollow with castle site (WM030-130---) 45m to NW. In 1612 Robert Dillon of Cannorstown was granted a 'castle (WM030-130----), a bawn, 30 houses, a water-mill' in the townland of 'Bealanecloghduffe and Killnedrae' (Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Jas I, 228). The post-medieval corn mill depicted on the OS 6-inch maps may have been built on the site of the medieval watermill depicted on the 1659 Down Survey map of Drumrany parish (NLI, MS 723-4). On this map the watermill is depicted as a building with waterwheel standing on the W bank of the Tang River or on the mill race diverted from the said river. The mill is shown standing beside a medieval castle (WM030-130----). The terrier of the 1659 Down Survey parish map recorded that in 1641 this castle and the lands of 'Ballinacloghduffe & Ruans' belonged to 'Irish papists', Henry Dillon and John Dillon (Ibid.). The terrier of Drumrany Parish map record that there was in 'Belanagh Cloghduffe & Ruans a Castle and a Mill' (Ibid.). Today only a small portion of the eastern end of the post-medieval corn mill survives, the rest of the mill was levelled and the mill race was mainly filled in and covered with a modern concrete yard. A portion of this mill-race has been preserved at the W end of the farmyard and a decorated window spandrel from Ballycloghduff Castle (WM030-130----) has been built into this section of the mill race surround. Cut stone fragments of the medieval castle can also be seen in the vicinity of the weir where they have been reused as facing stones for the E bank of the river.

Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 24 July 2015

References

Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Jas I - Irish patent rolls of James I: facsimile of the Irish record commissioners' calendar prepared prior to 1830, with foreword by M.C. Griffith (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1966)

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.